Options for accessing and listening to digital audio in an out-loud setting were limited until in 2003, when SONOS, Inc. filed for one of its first patent applications, entitled “Method for Synchronizing Audio Playback between Multiple Networked Devices,” and began offering a media playback system for sale in 2005. The Sonos Wireless HiFi System enables people to experience music from many sources via one or more networked playback devices. Through a software control application installed on a smartphone, tablet, or computer, one can play what he or she wants in any room that has a networked playback device. Additionally, using the controller, for example, different songs can be streamed to each room with a playback device, rooms can be grouped together for synchronous playback, or the same song can be heard in all rooms synchronously.
Given the ever growing interest in digital media, there continues to be a need to develop consumer-accessible technologies to further enhance the listening experience. Home audio loudspeakers and playback devices that include integrated speakers have outer enclosures that can be made of a variety of materials, such as plastic, wood, or fiberboard. The enclosures are typically constructed of a number of individual pieces and the joints where the pieces meet may be visible as a seam, often at the corners of the speaker.